The benefits of real time marketing: doing things wrong quickly

Posted July 18, 2013 by Monique de Maio

Today’s marketers have a tremendous advantage over yesterday’s marketers who didn’t have the Internet—and it probably isn’t what you think. The benefits of real time marketing is that digital media makes possible to experiment and adjust marketing campaigns quickly.

My friend Mike Moran and I co-teach a graduate-level class on social media marketing at Fairleigh Dickinson University and he wrote a book on digital marketing called Do it Wrong Quickly. The whole idea of the book is that the Internet lets marketers fail quickly—and that this is a good thing.

Why is failing a good thing? Because often, our first idea is not the best idea, but by experimenting, we can develop or find the best idea. With digital marketing, you can do it wrong quickly—and then fix it just as quickly!

As Moran says, “‘Do it wrong quickly’ is about experimentation, about trying new things and admitting you might be wrong. If you are, then try something else.” Don’t be paralyzed by a fear of failure, instead revel in the freedom to fail that the Internet affords and let that freedom fuel an engine of innovation inside you!

Run into some snags in your automated marketing campaign? Change your approach to avoid them, which is where the “quickly” part comes in:

“If you know how to keep score—which metrics are the ones that tell a success from a flop—then you can quickly adjust and try something else,” says Moran. The internet gives you freedom to experiment and if Plan A doesn’t work, you can quickly go to Plan B and C and D… until you get it right.

Thomas Edison had this to say about failure: “If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward.”

Many people are afraid of failing, but the freedom to fail is essential to succeed. Take advantage of the ways you can fail quickly with digital marketing and learn from them with the Thomas Edison mindset of failure as opportunity. You might be surprised at how successful you can be when you’re not afraid to do things wrong quickly.